


Commoner's Day Off

by hylian_stardust



Category: Ouran High School Host Club - All Media Types
Genre: Angst, Comedy, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Host Clubs, Romantic Comedy, Romantic Friendship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-30
Updated: 2017-05-30
Packaged: 2018-11-06 18:23:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,657
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11041731
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hylian_stardust/pseuds/hylian_stardust
Summary: Tamaki and Haruhi go to a commoner's market for a relaxing shopping trip. That is, until Haruhi goes missing.Oneshot, good old fashioned fluff with some angst.





	Commoner's Day Off

**Author's Note:**

> A bit of a Tamaki X Haruhi oneshot I came up with for some writing practice. As a disclaimer, while I do my best to stick to characters and series I'm very familiar with, I haven't seen every single episode, book, manga or movie of the series. As a result, some of my oneshots may veer off the canon trail a bit, but I'll do my best to keep the characters and scenarios believable. 
> 
> **Important note**  
> This one takes a bit from ep. 4's scene in particular, but I wanted to see where things could go if it was a real confrontation with Haruhi. Bit of a warning for those triggered by reference to a potential non-con situation in this one. With all that said, I hope you enjoy. <3

  


"Haruhiiiiii? Haruhi, where have you gotten to now?" 

  


Tamaki Suoh's perfectly combed blonde locks bounced as he jogged energetically around what he affectionately called a commoner's marketplace, violet eyes scanning over the top of the crowd. People bustled by him, brushing against his carefully ironed brand name but too tight blue jeans. He lifted his hand to shade his face from the summer sun. Sometimes his striking height and good looks were advantageous to him in ways other than wooing the young women of Ouran Academy, but Tamaki tended not to notice. 

Despite his continuous attention to detail in the realm of fashion and general hygiene and upkeep, he remained oblivious to anything not on the outside of his person. Most of the students attending Ouran wouldn't have guessed, but those close enough to him like Kyoya knew that he was surprisingly perceptive when it came to emotions. Unfortunately, this talent didn't apply to any self understanding on Tamaki's part. 

He blithely moved through the crowd, whistling in his sing-song manner while making his way down the main street. Tamaki never forget to apologize to anyone he bumped into on the way, and few passersby were ever offended. Usually, his beaming smile or pouting lips would win them over before he even said a word.

"Haruhi?... Daddy's getting worried..." 

Tamaki's loud voice trailed off quietly as the crowds parted, not seeing any sign of Haruhi by the kabocha stand she said she'd be going to next. Haruhi was an independent spirit, regardless of Tamaki's "fatherly" over-protection of her, but she would know better than to just wander off when it was only the two of them shopping today. His hand twitched nervously. 

_Where would she have gone? I don't know what else was on her list today of things to buy... Coffee? No, we have plenty of it back at the club, and do they even sell instant coffee at marketplaces?_

Tamaki set off in the direction he quickly determined as Haruhi's most likely route through the market. His jaw was set squarely, and he tried to suppress the worry and concern rising up in him.

 _Calm down, Tamaki, she's just fine. Maybe she couldn't find you and remembered something she didn't write on her list. Overreacting now would only make things worse, she's already being nice enough to let you come along on this trip after the noodle incident last time... Keep it together!_  
Tamaki leaned to turn around a corner before distant shuffling from his left caught his attention. His head snapped to the side as he peered down the length of a dimly lit alleyway. He could barely make out two taller figures standing in front of a much smaller one in what seemed to be a yellow sundress, but that was all he needed.

_Haruhi._

Somehow his heart managed to pound harder than his feet, converse slamming onto the cobblestone and propelling his body as fast as possible toward the figures. His mind ran faster than his legs, grasping for an explanation that wouldn’t scare the crap out of him.

 _Who are they? What is Haruhi doing standing there??? Why isn’t she moving?_ **Why isn’t she moving?**

The closer Tamaki got the more he felt like throwing up. The taller of the two men stood behind, jeering at Haruhi’s half-slumped frame pressed against the gritty building beside them, the other man leaning over her and pinning her against it. The man’s face, (his whole body, Tamaki thought,) was far, far too close to Haruhi’s for comfort. She’d never let anyone get that close to her without her explicit consent, not even Tamaki himself.

His ears started to ring as he got close enough to make out what they were saying, but Tamaki couldn’t care less. He knew their intentions as clearly as if they’d placed them in neon lights above them. Taking immediate action wouldn’t be anything he would regret this time. Haruhi’s blank stare and unnaturally rigid stance screamed what he needed to know as his body plowed through the shorter man’s. 

Adrenaline more potent than any drug he could have taken coursed through Tamaki’s veins as he slammed him against the wall opposite Haruhi. His teeth bared as he stared into the man’s eyes, his own flickering with barely controlled rage. He clenched his fist in the rough material of the man’s collar, poised for a right hook and nearly spitting in the man’s face as his normally smooth voice growled low in his throat.

“Get your filthy hands off my Haruhi.”

The man was tossed to the ground with all the care that one would use to toss a rag doll to the floor as Tamaki turned to the taller one watching them both, the man’s hands raised defensively.

“As if you had nothing to do with this. Get out of here before I report you both to the Ootori Police Squad. And you’d better never show your faces around here again or I’ll take care of you both myself.”

The shorter man stumbled in an attempt to rise to his feet, his companion already running taking off down the other end of the alley. Tamaki trembled slightly. He hadn't known his voice could get that loud. Or that he had the guts to do anything like that.

Tamaki swiveled to meet Haruhi’s gaze, his face immediately softening as he moved closer to her. He knew to keep a respectful distance until she signaled her okay.  


“Are you hurt, Haruhi?”

Still stunned, her eyes finally met Tamaki’s and her head shook a terse “no.” His shoulders sagged in relief as she took a deep breath and cautiously walked towards him. Tamaki’s arms enveloped her instantly, soothing her nerves as she buried her face into his loose fitting hoodie. He tried to remember to do his best to give her room to breathe before he bombarded her with any questions.

What confused him the most was how eerily still she had been. The men were obviously being threatening towards her and she hadn’t moved an inch. It was like she had become dead to her surroundings, planting her feet into the stone below her like roots, keeping her legs from carrying her to escape.  


He remembered how Haruhi had wasted no time in jumping to the defense of the two girls who had been harassed during their trip to Okinawa. Why had she been so frozen now? Tamaki blinked slowly as a realization came to him. 

_It should have been obvious. She doesn’t ever think about herself, does she? She can act distant to protect herself, but when it comes down to it, she’d jump without a moment’s chance to help protect someone else. Even if she wouldn’t do that for her own reasons._

Tamaki wondered if she could sense his quickening heartbeat underneath his clothes as she clung tighter to the back of his jacket. He cleared his throat, face flushing pink. 

“You sure you’re okay, Haruhi?...”

“… Yeah. I’ll be fine.” Haruhi lifted up her head from underneath his chin, causing Tamaki’s hand to slide into his hair, shyly trying to reassure her with a grin. “Just a couple of idiots with nothing better to do than harass girls in broad daylight. Someone will take care of them eventually.” She shrugged, backing away from Tamaki’s embrace before he was ready to let her go. This was the first time either of them had been so close since she had sought his comfort during a recent thunderstorm.

An awkward silence followed, and Tamaki noticed Haruhi staring at him quizzically. He coughed nervously. “So… You wanna go get some watame?”

"Watame? Isn’t that only at festivals? And besides, that’s not on our list.”

Tamaki smiled in his sickeningly sweet but still endearing way that he always did. “Oh, yeah, I know. I just figured that something sweet might help you feel better, you know?”

“I thought you also knew that I don’t really like sweets, Tamaki-senpai. I’m not exactly Honey-senpai.”

Tamaki grinned even wider at the thought of her getting as excited over treats and cakes the way Honey-senpai did, bouncing up and down with eyes sparkling like those of a much younger student.

“Well, maybe watame might not make you feel better, but it’ll definitely help me. I need to relax a bit after all that.” 

Haruhi sighed, but her expression quickly turned thoughtful as she responded. “You know… I don’t think I’ve ever seen you that mad, Tamaki-senpai. Not even when those upper classmen got angry with me that one time.”

Tamaki immediately struck a pose, Haruhi covering her face with one hand as he prepared to wax eloquent with his answer.  
“That’s because I, as a father, should never let anyone get so near my dear Haruhi like those nasty thugs dared to. The thought of them is still making my blood boil! Imagine, there are people so cruel in this world who would even think of hurting such a delicate flower like my daughter!”

As the words came out of his mouth, he sensed a familiar tugging at his heart, like the words he’d just said to her weren’t entirely true. He did care for her, deeper than either of them understood. But just this once, maybe he was willing to admit to himself that his love ran a bit deeper than a father’s would for his daughter.  


He quickly pushed his thoughts about the matter aside before they became any more complicated than they already were. He instead opted to put his arm around Haruhi’s shoulder to guide them back to the main street. 

She shook her head in mock disappointment, the two of them strolling along slowly as he babbled on about their plans for the rest of that day.  
This time, Haruhi didn’t shrug his arm off of her shoulder as they walked through the crowd.

  


Maybe things were a bit different now after all.

  


**Author's Note:**

> *Kabocha is Japanese squash and watame is the Japanese word for cotton candy sold at festivals.


End file.
